BUILD IT and they will come.

A new set of business coordinates has been plotted in Casiguran, Aurora province. On that site will rise the Aurora Special Economic Zone (Asez) ? the country?s investment gateway to the Pacific and the rest of the world.

The 5,000-hectare ecozone, the newest in Central Luzon, will share its business operations in the region with Clark Economic Freeport, Bataan Economic Zone and Pampanga Export Processing Ecozone, among others.

But Representative Juan Edgardo ?Sonny? Angara pointed out that Asez would be different from its neighboring ecozones.

For one, Asez is intended to be the country?s first ?green? economic zone, with plans of harnessing wind power and solar cells for energy use in the future. At present, its main industry is led by agricultural products and food-processing.

And unlike Clark Freeport, where the former US base?s infrastructure had been retrofitted to suit an ecozone, Asez ?will start from scratch,? says Angara.

Directly facing the Pacific Ocean, Aurora continues to suffer from a geographical identity crisis, according to the congressman of the province?s lone district.

?Some people think we are still part of Quezon province,? says Angara during a recent briefing.

He said that the need to establish Aurora?s identity would be necessary in developing the province.

But Asez will change all that, becoming Aurora?s ticket to progress.

It has already drawn prospective investors from Japan, Spain and other European countries, staking claims at the new ecozone, Angara said.

According to Governor Bellaflor Angara-Castillo, the local government has taken into consideration how the infrastructure will affect the locals.

?Just in case we need to resettle some people whose lands may be affected by the special economic zone, meron na kaming designated spots na napili [we have already picked designated spots where we can relocate them],? Angara-Castillo said, referring to 22 families that, according to the first survey, would be directly affected by the project.

?Pero gusto naming malaman sa mga settlers kung acceptable sa kanila ?yun [but we need to find out first if the relocation spot would be acceptable to the settlers].?

Asez was created by law through Republic Act No. 9490 in June 2007.

A 198-meter Roll-On Roll-Off (Ro-Ro) port and a 1.5-kilometer airport runway will be established at the ecozone.

Angara added that an international port would be next in line.

[The port] would really give us an advantage,? Angara said.

The site is perfect for a port, he added.

?If you look at the map, even in ancient times, that?s where ships used to dock,? he said.

However, it still takes 6 hours to reach the province from Manila, with a kilometer left unpaved, according to the governor.

A road that will connect the ecozone to the highway system becomes a special concern, especially since Aurora will expect visitors to flock in the coming days, as the sun-kissed province plays host to the Mutya ng Pilipinas pageant on Aug. 9.

Governor Angara-Castillo says that preparations are underway to accommodate the throng of visitors expected to attend the pageant.

She says that the local government has been cooperating with the pageant organizers led by Roberto de Venecia.

?I don?t mind admitting that Aurora is a poor province. That is why I am inspired to embark on developmental processes and projects that will really help Aurora,? says Angara-Castillo.